Would you move into a dilapidated, abandoned facility? What if it was an offer far too good to refuse? That is thew question posed in the new horror short COMMUNE. Thomas Perrett’s directorial horror debut is an impressive little horror short of suspense and jolts of terror that any person can identify with.

Commune opens with Tom (Tom Weller), a lonely man who takes a job as the guardian of a rundown London house. Tom gets to stay at the house and all he has to do is keep the place safe. But of course, we already know that the house doesn’t need protecting. It holds a secret that is coming for Tom. The question is, will he figure it out before it’s too late?

As Tom gets settled into the rhythms of staying at the house more and more things seem to be happening. What this film does particularly well is replicate those lingering feelings that you’re not alone as you fall asleep. You know the ones. The feeling that someone is standing over you as you drift off to dreamland. That is what this film gets spot on.

Says Perrett, “Commune came about after I attended a Halloween party held at a dilapidated 1930’s house in North London, that would eventually serve as the creepy setting for my film. The building was a strange place, full of belongings and personal effects from a Jewish family that had long vacated. The more I sifted through the rooms, the stranger it felt to have our hands in someone else’s life, and the weird feeling of intruding was very strong, as if the owners could return at any point,”

To give more away would do the film a disservice. Perrett’s short is an effective little piece of horror that show’s a capable hand with atmosphere and nightmares. I really would have like to have seen the story take its time. Sixteen minutes is a little short a haunted house story with this much going for it.

If you want to see the COMMUNE, it is playing at the following festivals this month.

January 9th at 10:00am
Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, California, U.S.A.

January 13th at 11:00pm
London Short Film Festival, London, U.K.

January 21st at 5:30pm
Horror On Sea Film Festival, Essex, U.K.